Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 985 > Part III - Custody and Intake; Intervention and Diversion

• Addictions receiving facility: means a substance abuse service provider as defined in chapter 397. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• administration: means the direct application of a controlled substance, whether by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or any other means, to the body of a person or animal. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Adult: means any natural person other than a child. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Arbitration: means a process whereby a neutral third person or panel, called an arbitrator or an arbitration panel, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and renders a decision which may be binding or nonbinding. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Arrest: Taking physical custody of a person by lawful authority.
• assessment: means the gathering of information for the evaluation of a juvenile offender's or a child's physical, psychological, educational, career and technical education, and social condition and family environment as they relate to the child's need for rehabilitative and treatment services, including substance abuse treatment services, mental health services, developmental services, literacy services, medical services, family services, and other specialized services, as appropriate. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Cannabis: means all parts of any plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of the plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of the plant or its seeds or resin. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Circuit: means any of the 20 judicial circuits as set forth in…. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Circumstantial evidence: All evidence except eyewitness testimony.
• Civil forfeiture: The loss of ownership of property used to conduct illegal activity.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Conditional release: means the care, treatment, help, supervision, and provision of transition-to-adulthood services provided to a juvenile released from a residential commitment program which is intended to promote rehabilitation and prevent recidivism. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Controlled substance: means any substance named or described in Schedules I-V of…. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Court: means the circuit court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under this chapter, unless otherwise expressly stated. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Cultivating: means the preparation of any soil or hydroponic medium for the planting of a controlled substance or the tending and care or harvesting of a controlled substance. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• delinquent act: means a violation of any law of this state, the United States, or any other state which is a misdemeanor or a felony or a violation of a county or municipal ordinance which would be punishable by incarceration if the violation were committed by an adult. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• delivery: means the actual, constructive, or attempted transfer from one person to another of a controlled substance, whether or not there is an agency relationship. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Department: means the Department of Juvenile Justice. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Department: means the Department of Health. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Detention center or facility: means a facility used pending court adjudication or disposition or execution of court order for the temporary care of a child alleged or found to have committed a violation of law. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Dispense: means the transfer of possession of one or more doses of a medicinal drug by a pharmacist or other licensed practitioner to the ultimate consumer thereof or to one who represents that it is his or her intention not to consume or use the same but to transfer the same to the ultimate consumer or user for consumption by the ultimate consumer or user. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Disposition hearing: means a hearing in which the court determines the most appropriate dispositional services in the least restrictive available setting provided for under part VII, in delinquency cases. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Distribute: means to deliver, other than by administering or dispensing, a controlled substance. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Distributor: means a person who distributes. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Family: means a collective of persons, consisting of a child and a parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative, in which:
  (a) The persons reside in the same house or living unit; or
  (b) The parent, guardian, adult custodian, or adult relative has a legal responsibility by blood, marriage, or court order to support or care for the child. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hospital: means an institution for the care and treatment of the sick and injured, licensed pursuant to the provisions of chapter 395 or owned or operated by the state or Federal Government. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Indictment: The formal charge issued by a grand jury stating that there is enough evidence that the defendant committed the crime to justify having a trial; it is used primarily for felonies.
• Intake: means the initial acceptance and screening by the department or juvenile assessment center personnel of a complaint or a law enforcement report or probable cause affidavit of delinquency to determine the recommendation to be taken in the best interests of the child, the family, and the community. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Judge: means the circuit judge exercising jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Juvenile probation officer: means the authorized agent of the department who performs the intake, case management, or supervision functions. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Laboratory: means a laboratory approved by the Drug Enforcement Administration as proper to be entrusted with the custody of controlled substances for scientific, medical, or instructional purposes or to aid law enforcement officers and prosecuting attorneys in the enforcement of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Listed chemical: means any precursor chemical or essential chemical named or described in…. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Manufacture: means the production, preparation, propagation, compounding, cultivating, growing, conversion, or processing of a controlled substance, either directly or indirectly, by extraction from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical synthesis, or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and includes any packaging of the substance or labeling or relabeling of its container, except that this term does not include the preparation, compounding, packaging, or labeling of a controlled substance by:
  1. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Manufacturer: means and includes every person who prepares, derives, produces, compounds, or repackages any drug as defined by the Florida Drug and Cosmetic Act. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Mediation: means a process whereby a neutral third person called a mediator acts to encourage and facilitate the resolution of a dispute between two or more parties. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• minor: includes any person who has not attained the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Mixture: means any physical combination of two or more substances, including, but not limited to, a blend, an aggregation, a suspension, an emulsion, a solution, or a dosage unit, whether or not such combination can be separated into its components by physical means, whether mechanical or thermal. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Parent: means a woman who gives birth to a child and a man whose consent to the adoption of the child would be required under…. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Patient: means an individual to whom a controlled substance is lawfully dispensed or administered pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Pharmacist: means a person who is licensed pursuant to chapter 465 to practice the profession of pharmacy in this state. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Possession: includes temporary possession for the purpose of verification or testing, irrespective of dominion or control. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Practitioner: means a physician licensed under chapter 458, a dentist licensed under chapter 466, a veterinarian licensed under chapter 474, an osteopathic physician licensed under chapter 459, an advanced practice registered nurse licensed under chapter 464, a naturopath licensed under chapter 462, a certified optometrist licensed under chapter 463, a psychiatric nurse as defined in…. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Preliminary screening: means the gathering of preliminary information to be used in determining a child's need for further evaluation or assessment or for referral for other substance abuse services through means such as psychosocial interviews; urine and breathalyzer screenings; and reviews of available educational, delinquency, and dependency records of the child. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Prescription: includes any order for drugs or medicinal supplies which is written or transmitted by any means of communication by a licensed practitioner authorized by the laws of this state to prescribe such drugs or medicinal supplies, is issued in good faith and in the course of professional practice, is intended to be dispensed by a person authorized by the laws of this state to do so, and meets the requirements of…. See Florida Statutes 893.02
• Prevention: means programs, strategies, initiatives, and networks designed to keep children from making initial or further contact with the juvenile justice system. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Probable cause: A reasonable ground for belief that the offender violated a specific law.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Probation: means the legal status of probation created by law and court order in cases involving a child who has been found to have committed a delinquent act. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Public defender: Represent defendants who can't afford an attorney in criminal matters.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• registered mail: includes certified mail with return receipt requested. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Relative: means a grandparent, great-grandparent, sibling, first cousin, aunt, uncle, great-aunt, great-uncle, niece, or nephew, whether related by the whole or half blood, by affinity, or by adoption. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Restitution: The court-ordered payment of money by the defendant to the victim for damages caused by the criminal action.
• Shelter: means a place for the temporary care of a child who is alleged to be or who has been found to be delinquent. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Substance abuse: means using, without medical reason, any psychoactive or mood-altering drug, including alcohol, in such a manner as to induce impairment resulting in dysfunctional social behavior. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Supervised release detention: means temporary, nonsecure custody of the child while the child is released to the custody of the parent, guardian, or custodian in a physically nonrestrictive environment under the supervision of the department staff pending adjudication or disposition, through programs that include, but are not limited to, electronic monitoring, day reporting centers, and nonsecure shelters. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Taken into custody: means the status of a child immediately when temporary physical control over the child is attained by a person authorized by law, pending the child's release, detention, placement, or other disposition as authorized by law. See Florida Statutes 985.03
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• youth: means any person under the age of 18 or any person who is alleged to have committed a violation of law occurring prior to the time that person reached the age of 18 years. See Florida Statutes 985.03